"Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique"

Zhou Family Auction House.

Inside a private room in Auction Hall No. 6.

Watching the maid who had served them Spirit Tea and Spirit Fruit withdraw, Chen Daoxuan glanced over the spacious auction hall and sighed. "The Zhou Family really does have style. Such a huge auction hall, and this is only a branch of the Zhou Family Auction House."

"Yes."

Chen Xianhe nodded. "Every private room here is lined with Ink Rock Stone that blocks Divine Sense probing, protecting the clients' privacy to the greatest extent."

At this.

Chen Daoxuan swept out with his Divine Sense. Sure enough, just as Chen Xianhe had said, the moment his Divine Sense reached another private room, it was blocked by an invisible force.

After observing for a while, Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe quietly waited for the auction to begin.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Once the clients attending the auction had arrived one after another, the auction officially began.

An old man with white hair and a youthful face stood on the auction platform at the center of the hall.

The elder was a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Zhou Family. He appeared thoroughly familiar with hosting such auctions.

After a few brief opening remarks, he announced the official start of the auction.

The first treasure to be auctioned was a bottle of Second-Grade Spirit Pills—Essence Restoration Pills. After consuming one, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could recover thirty percent of their True Yuan, but only one pill could be taken per month.

Otherwise, taking them repeatedly within a short period would cause pill toxins to inflict injuries upon a cultivator's body that would be difficult to heal.

The elder introduced it. "I trust everyone is well aware of the properties of the Essence Restoration Pill, so I will not dwell on them. There are ten Essence Restoration Pills in this bottle. The starting price is 2,000 Spirit Stones, and each bid must increase by no less than 100 Spirit Stones."

The moment his words fell.

Bidding voices rang out from the private rooms.

"2,100 Spirit Stones!"

"2,300 Spirit Stones!"

The price of a bottle of Essence Restoration Pills was driven higher and higher, finally selling for 2,500 Spirit Stones.

Listening silently to the final sale price of the pills, Chen Daoxuan could not help but remark, "The market price of an Essence Restoration Pill is only around 200 Spirit Stones per pill. After being auctioned by him, the price rose by a full twenty-five percent. The Zhou Family really knows how to do business."

Chen Xianhe shook his head. "Compared to the Magic Artifact market, medicinal pills are in even greater demand. Buying them at a premium is commonplace. A premium of twenty-five percent is not too much of a loss."

Next, one treasure after another was sold by the auction house.

There were no vicious bidding wars during this time.

On second thought, that was perfectly normal.

The Zhou Family Auction House held an auction once every month, and the treasures being auctioned had already been publicized throughout that month.

Everyone attending the auction had clear objectives and had long since set their own acceptable prices for the items they wanted.

Unless two people had their eyes on the same treasure.

Otherwise, bidding itself was rare. Most items were bought for no more than twenty or thirty percent above the starting price.

After all, no one's Spirit Stones were blown in on the wind. Mindlessly raising bids was something that only happened in storybooks.

"As everyone knows, Spirit Veins are hard to come by, yet cultivators require spiritual energy for cultivation. The next item is a first-tier Spirit Nurturing Array and the materials needed to set it up, which can assist in nurturing a Spirit Vein. The starting price is 1,000 Spirit Stones, and each increase must be no less than 100 Spirit Stones."

Their target had appeared, and Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe immediately perked up in their private room.

"1,100 Spirit Stones!"

Chen Daoxuan called out his bid.

"1,200 Spirit Stones."

A bidding voice came from another private room.

"An increase of 200 Spirit Stones at a time."

"1,500 Spirit Stones!"

Chen Daoxuan immediately raised the price to 1,500 Spirit Stones, a full fifty percent above the starting bid.

This bid instantly stirred up discussion throughout the private rooms.

"1,500 Spirit Stones just to buy a Spirit Nurturing Grand Array?"

The Foundation Establishment cultivator in the private room next to Chen Daoxuan shook his head. "What a waste of money!"

Sure enough.

Chen Daoxuan's fierce price hike directly frightened off the opponent who had dared bid against him, and the first-tier Spirit Nurturing Grand Array officially fell into his hands.

Having bought the Spirit Nurturing Grand Array, Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe immediately relaxed.

For them, their objective had already been achieved. All that remained was to watch the excitement.

Very soon.

The auction reached its halfway point.

At this moment, the elder coughed, introducing the next treasure with some embarrassment. "The treasure being auctioned next is a cultivation technique that was once immensely popular during Ancient Times."

The elder paused.

An ancient cultivation technique? Chen Daoxuan's curiosity was immediately piqued.

"This cultivation technique is called the Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique. It is a supreme method of ancient body refinement. Once cultivated to a certain level, it allows a cultivator to resist Magic Artifacts head-on with their physical body alone. Its power is truly boundless!"

After awkwardly praising the cultivation technique, the elder struck the auction hammer and said, "The Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique has a starting price of 1,000 Spirit Stones. Each increase must be no less than 100 Spirit Stones."

Yet this time.

The auction hall fell into a rare silence.

No one placed a bid. Instead, they all watched this Zhou Family Foundation Establishment cultivator with great interest.

After waiting for a long while without seeing anyone bid, the elder could only say awkwardly, "Since none of my fellow Daoists think highly of this cultivation technique, then—"

"1,000 Spirit Stones!"

"Good, a fellow Daoist has bid 1,000 Spirit Stones. Is there anyone else?"

Sweeping his gaze around and seeing no response, the elder decisively announced, "Congratulations to the guest in Box Number Seven for obtaining the ancient body-refinement cultivation technique, the Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique."

Smack!

The auction hammer fell, sealing the transaction.

Inside Box Number Seven.

Chen Xianhe looked at Chen Daoxuan speechlessly. "Why did you buy that thing?"

"What? Is body-refinement cultivation difficult?"

Chen Daoxuan asked in confusion.

"Cultivating it is not difficult."

Chen Xianhe pondered for a moment. "Do you know why a body-refinement cultivation technique that was once so popular was gradually abandoned by cultivators?"

"Why?"

Chen Daoxuan was also quite curious.

Logically speaking, such a top-tier body-refinement cultivation technique should not have been left sitting on the bench. Yet the reality was that everyone had shown little interest in it.

That clearly defied common sense.

"Because cultivating body-refinement techniques consumes far too many resources!"

Chen Xianhe shook his head. "Someone once calculated it in detail. Cultivators who simultaneously cultivate body-refinement techniques consume more than ten times the resources of ordinary cultivators at the same level.

With that many resources, you could buy ten of the finest defensive Magic Artifacts. Why go to all the trouble of cultivating some body-refinement technique?"

"I see."

Chen Daoxuan was not particularly bothered by this, because he knew that in the future, the Chen Family might lack everything except cultivation resources.

No one understood better than him that once industrialized production was achieved, resources would surge toward the Chen Family like a tidal wave.

At that time, what the Chen Family would lack would not be resources, but how to turn those resources into strength.

For 1,000 Spirit Stones, he had acquired a supreme body-refinement method that could strengthen his clansmen in the future. Chen Daoxuan felt that no matter how he looked at it, he had not lost out.

Having bought two items.

Chen Daoxuan already felt that this trip had been worthwhile. He had no intention of bidding on anything else and merely waited for the auction to end.

Half an hour later.

The auction entered its final stage.

As the finale treasure, the Zhou Family brought out one of their exclusive treasures—the Water Spirit Pearl.

And it was not an ordinary first-tier Water Spirit Pearl, but a second-tier Water Spirit Pearl.

"The final auction item is a treasure abundantly produced by our Zhou Family—the second-tier Water Spirit Pearl. I trust there is no need for me to elaborate on the effects of a second-tier Water Spirit Pearl. I will only say this: it can be used together with medicinal pills to assist a cultivator's cultivation!"

Sure enough, the Zhou Family elder's words completely ignited the atmosphere at the auction.

Even Chen Daoxuan's eyes heated up at the sight of the second-tier Water Spirit Pearls. No one knew better than him how powerful these things were.

The Water Spirit Pearls had played a tremendous role in allowing him to advance so quickly from the third layer of Qi Refining to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

What was more, the ten Water Spirit Pearls being auctioned by the Zhou Family were all second-tier Water Spirit Pearls, whose effects were even stronger than those of first-tier Water Spirit Pearls.

"A total of ten second-tier Water Spirit Pearls. The starting price is 10,000 Spirit Stones, and each increase must be no less than 1,000 Spirit Stones. Please place your bids!"

The Zhou Family elder said with a smile.

The Zhou Family Auction House was able to be so popular partly because they often auctioned Water Spirit Pearls as the finale item.

As everyone knew.

Throughout the Myriad Star Sea, only the Guang'an Prefecture Zhou Family sold Water Spirit Pearls.

Other families also wanted to imitate the Zhou Family and capture Mermaids, but they simply did not possess the Zhou Family's unique methods of capture.